DJKOR

A quick read of the terms and conditions of use for the Toyota Link states: For more information, go here: http://www.toyota.com.au/toyotalink/animation/index I would say it uses GSM for the communications. Makes sense though becuse GSM is not affected (in most cases) by overhead structures. As for the box in the boot being for the Toyota Link, it's size is probably explainable since it probably has some space in there for a battery to power it should your car battery fail.

I always wonder if there is any place in the world where the air is so clear that your car stays relatively clean after a bit of driving. It just sucks. On one hand you want to keep your car spotless, but on the other, you need to drive it and it will ultimately get dirty.

Yeah, I usually spend more time than I should on my car. I get up bright and early on a Thursday, vacuum the car, wash it, make sure it's nice and dry by leaving it in the sun while I clean the inside windows and rims, then I drive it into the garage and let it cool down, and then I add a layer of wax. I usually let the wax dry for about 3-4 hours and it leaves a nice solid finish. I use up my whole day on Thursday doing this every week. It's a bit sad in a way. Been quite busy lately though so I've eased up on it. Next time I have Thursday free I will clay my car, go over it with swirl remover, then give it a good polish and wax. I'm not particularly looking forward to that day. The cooler months were easy, but it's going to be really hot and sweaty now that it's summer. I do everything by hand.

Elgin and I are thinking of placing an order with Ultra Racing in February. You can join in on the group buy then if you can wait. You would be looking at the following prices approximately (prior to group buy discount): Front strut bar - $218 Front 4-point brace - $248 Rear sway bar - $323 I would suggest getting a set from eBay since Toyota will rip you off big time.

JIN: LOL to mirroring the image to suit the direction of photo. Lovin' the DRT badge. I know. I was just showing off :D

I would definitely be leaning towards the Toyota Link primarily because it sits too far forward to be the motor for the rear shade. I just included the rear shade idea in my post cause I couldn't think of anything else different in the Presara that would need something located there. I'm guessing that port on it is to program the Toyota Link.

I'll work on getting one in better light so you can see the grill, but here are a few from me:

Thanks for that....was it my exhaust or my wheels? I turned off traction control then because I wanted to have a bit of fun with Jesse, could it have been from my wheels? I did do a few crazy wheelspins. It was a black sooty smoke. Much darker than burnout smoke. It was definitely coming from the rear so I ruled out your tires otherwise I would have seen it come from the front.

WTF. Well it definitely isn't in the Sportivo, so that leaves me stumped. I would look further into it if I had one in mine. There is nothing much more I can think of that is an extra on the Presara that would explain that box. The only two things I can think of that could have any use for something there is the rear window shade, or the ToyotaLink stuff.

Wow, we've managed to steer Rowan's thread off course (kind of like your rear wheels on Nebo, hehehe). Anyways, if you have a Sportivo and are not upgrading the rims, I would highly recommend the Adrenalins as it doesn't cost that much more than the stock Michelins. This is providing you are wanting to push your car a little harder. Still though, I was quoted $199 each for the Michelin Energy MXV8's, and the Adrenalins were $235 each. They may not last as long, but the extra stability is worth it. Driving around Mt. Nebo last night was definitely a different experience to the past. I was able to take the corners at a higher speed which meant there was less braking required. I managed to make the whole trip up Nebo keeping up with Elgin and the SS (remember that my tires are only 215 wide and theirs are much wider), and not have VSC kick in once. That said, I had just learnt something as well. With really grippy tires, the VSC has a little more difficulty recognising when the wheels slip out. You get a little leeway firstly which is good, and usually in most cases, your tires will regain traction before the VSC is needed. It is kind of good in a way since it reduces interruption. Though, it does force you to take more control. I realised that when the force of taking a wide turn at 100km/h or so while accelerating ended up with my rear riding what felt like inches from a guard rail. Usually even if VSC doesn't intervene, it at least flashes its light whenever it slips. But since I never got a flashing light during the run, I guess it didn't notice anything. That certainly was a fun night out on Nebo Elgin. You always push your car that little bit harder when there are others ahead of you. On a side note, on the drive down Waterworks road, when you planted your foot down a couple of times, it seems your car is running a little rich. On two occasions, I saw a big cloud of black smoke come from your exhaust before you took off. Maybe something to have a look into.

I've never had decent tires before, so it's hard to make a comparison, but in relation to the Adrenalins.... OMG! These make the stock Michelins that came with my car seem crap. I was able to go up Coot-tha at the same pace as quite fast and used my brakes 1/3 as much, and Nebo... well, that was insane. They do feel a little floaty though, in that when you take a turn really hard, you don't feel that resistance that is the friction keeping it on the road. It's like it is gripping with ease. Things like this is hard to explain. I guess you gotta wait till you get them and give them a good run in. At only $36 more per tire than the stock Michelin Energy MXV8's that came stock with the car (for us Sportivo drivers), the Adrenalins are worth the extra dollars. They seem a bit 'fatter' as well despite being the same width at 215. I guess that's a good thing. And for viewing pleasure:

Cheers for taking the time to check those areas out Julez. I did think of that picnic spot up at Nebo (my first place I thought of), but thought that you will pick up some dirt and bugs on the way there so I ruled it out. But the mountain run would be fun.

Very sweet purchase there. I imagine a great future for that car.

I've used that Scratch-X and had no good results. I used Meguiars Swirl Remover 2.0 which is slightly stronger and that worked a charm. Just best to do it by hand and put in a lot of elbow grease. I'm still not satisfied though. I want my paint to look like liquid glass. That's my OCD for ya, lol. I never wash my car at home. I go to the local self-serve car wash. $1 for 1 and a half minutes; I end up using $4. I also bring my own microfibre mitt as those brooms are rough as.

trust me its sucks balls my white car gets dirty as at least on white cars, you cant notice scratches, even though my car is a year old, its pretty immaculate. only a few scratches... i think...for now... That's one thing I love about lighter coloured cars. I am so OCD with the swirls/cobwebs on my paint surface. I would kill to have my paint in a mirror finish again.

Just forget it mrs.sportivo (in relation to previous discussion). We don't need this thread going in an un-necessary direction. You just stay satisfied with your response. If you want to sort out this whole topic, take it elsewhere or to the bedroom. Hint, your thumb comes in handy if you didn't pick up on my first answer. Look at the shocker in your display pic and use your imagination as to what that thumb can do.

Tell me about it. I clean my car, 2 days later there is this fine layer of dust on it. Doesn't help though that I live near and travel on a highway that is having all kinds of redevelopment done at the moment.

I edited my post shortly after cause I figured you would reply back from not understanding what I meant. Second sentence explains better. If you still don't understand, I'm not going to explain here... like I said, keep it clean.

^ My guess is that whatever guy you've been with obviously doesn't know what he was doing. Did he not have opposable digits or something? I won't answer the second statement. Anyways everyone, keep this thread clean okay. We really don't need this talk around here.

Yeah, I wouldn't really bother removing the resonators in your car for a trade-off between power and induction noise. Not the best words coming from me, but with my V6 and the way I drive, I wouldn't even notice any loss in power. You have to remember that these cars were designed by people who have researched things like this thoroughly. If your car is anything like mine (in terms of the modern design), then these resonators and sections where the intake narrows serves a good purpose. Removing either or both will take an effect on your low end torque as these help towards the air velocity when the throttle is not fully open. I've noticed differences in my low end torque by removing the resonators and restrictions, which is why I put my upper one (right before the throttle body) back in, which resolved that. I still left the one located before the air filter out since I wanted some adjustment to the induction note. So far that hasn't had any effect on the performance. I figure this one was there just for noise reduction as after this resonator is the air filter which will most likely alter the air flow a bit. Modern cars are fairly touchy. Everything is put in for a reason.

Is the overall diameter of the new tyres larger than that of the old stock tyres? pretty much the same i think, new ones are 205/55/r16 old ones were 195/65 R15 According to http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp, your overall rolling diameter is not that much different: It would appear then that any sluggishness would most likely come from any weight differences in the wheels. Essentially it is one inch more alloy wheel, and one inch less rubber (and whatever else is in the sidewall). It all depends on the construction of the wheel itself. Even if the weight differences are slight, rotational force can be multiplied.

One thing that I won't really forget about that movie is the scene with the table saws where they had to put their hand in. That was just hard to watch... but entertaining.

Yeah. I watched the movie first and it was great. Then I read the book and watched the movie again. All I can say is that I'm glad I saw the movie firstly. I'm not much of a reader anyways, so the movies are always good for me.

If you aren't up for the challenge, or if you can get Toyota to do it for free or very cheap than disregard this answer. If you do really want to DIY, then this should help. Your Camry should be roughly the same as the Aurion in terms of accessing the parker bulbs. This was my response in regards to that; just replace LED with a normal bulb if you don't want to go down that path: I've managed to change mine to some white LED's (the photo makes it seem a bit more blue than it is). Since I had to access the wiring for the parkers when I installed my HID's (for the relay circuit), I though I may as well open up the other side and swap the bulb there. Accessing it is kind of annoying, but if you change it to LED, chances are you won't be doing it again. With all the design work behind the scenes at Toyota, I'm surprised that this was their best solution for accessing the parkers. I didn't take any photos during the procedure (sorry), but I went down just then to take some photos as a guide. Mind the dirt; I haven't got around to cleaning the unseen areas yet. -Firstly, the way I did it was to remove the screw underneath the car that holds the under guard to the wheel arch guard (photo 2 taken facing the rear). When you look at the area, you can easily figure out the screw I'm talking about and how it all goes together. -Secondly, remove two of the clips holding the arch guard to the wheel arch (photo 3, and the top circle in photo 4). The lower one is a twist and turn, the upper one pops out in the centre followed by the remainder of the clip. -Thirdly, lift the arch guard up a bit and you will then find a screw holding the bumper in place. You will find it hidden around the location of the second circle in photo 4. Unscrew that and put it aside. - Then carefully unclip the side of the bumper and with a combination of having the bumper sitting to the side a little (for obvious reasons, don't force it to the point that it looks like it's going to bend) and pushing the wheel arch towards the inner of the car (more forgiving if you push it hard), you can access the parkers; providing your hands and wrists aren't too large. Having a torch is quite helpful at this point in time so you can figure out where you are going to have to send your hand to. I'm not too good with detailing instructions, so excuse me if it seems a little non-descriptive. Was it as easy or easier than installing the HID's? In general, I would say that it was probably easier. In my case though, my HID setup was a bit more detailed, and since I was also accessing the parkers for the HID's, I'd say that based on the "swear factor", both tasks were a pain in the rear end.

Thought I would add another question to the Stupid Thread. Why is it that workshops (tire, suspension, and anyone that takes your wheels off) keep persisting to do your wheel nuts up with their air impact wrench to tighnesses that require Hercules strength when removing by hand? Seriously, if the average person got a flat and their wheel nuts were done up insanely tight, that's not very useful is it?